Lemon Chicken soup

Ah....lunches.  I haven't talked about my struggle in getting those together in a bit.  I do struggle...and even a bit more with needing to make one more lunch this school year at the same time I don't have as many leftovers.  It's a pretty good trade-off....we get our exchange daughter instead of the extra food!

However, that has meant a few more sandwiches for lunch since that works well.  However, Eleanor isn't a huge sandwich fan, so I made soup the other morning.  This recipe was quick and made the perfect amount for two days'worth of lunches for the girls and one lunch for me.  In fact, it was so good that I'm going to do the same thing this next week since I still have some of the fresh dill left.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, sliced crosswise 1/2-inch thick
• handful baby carrots
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•  freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup tiny pasta
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• Lemon halves (for serving)

Preparation

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft, 5-8 minutes. Add chicken and broth; season with  pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Let cool, then shred chicken into bite-size pieces.
• Meanwhile, return broth to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat. Stir in chicken and dill. Serve with lemon halves for squeezing over.

Sweet Potato Soup

I have a great squash soup recipe....the one with apples, so I wasn't sure that I needed another one.  But, kinda like a new pair of shoes, I found that I could use this recipe too.

This one has a different taste...likely due to the chipotles and cinnamon.  I really liked this soup, and so did everyone in my house.  I really like to follow Nicole from www.preventionrd.com, 
she often has recipes that look good and make a quick and healthy dinner.  I varied her recipe a bit since I didn't have the celery, a rarely add salt to anything, and used apple juice. 

Sweet Potato and Apple and Chipotle Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 1/2 cups sweet potatoes (about 2 large), peeled and chopped
 2 cups (about 1 1/2) apples, peeled and chopped
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 qt (4 cups) low-sodium vegetable broth
 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup apple juice
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and stir frequently until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the sweet potatoes, apples, chipotles, broth, apple juice, salt, cinnamon, and black pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a strong simmer, cover, and allow to cook about 20 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
Using an immersion blender, puree soup, or working in batches, puree the soup in a blender, venting the top. Serve hot.

Where I have I been?  I guess I'm just going through the cycle where blogging is at the bottom of this list.  It's been crazy busy at work the last few weeks, in a good way.  I've tried Y blitz, continued to spin and go to body pump.  It seems like weather is imposing a bit of a break from running due to cold and ice and varying conditions.  I'm still making good food; however, it tends to be repeated recipes.  I'm not sure of my future blogging commitment though.  I still enjoy it, but I wish I had a tiny bit more time to pump it up a bit.  I know, I know, you can make time for whatever is important; however, I really feel like that part is a bit lower on the list.  For now.  So, check back periodically.....I still plan to post...maybe just a bit more sporadically. 

Squash Soup

Wolfgang Puck's Squash Soup

I have raved about the "other" squash soup recipe.  You know, the one with apples and apple cider.  I was looking for another one; I still like the original, but I like this one too.  It's just a bit more savory than the other recipe.  We're a squash and pumpkin family, eating both of those items with great frequency in the fall and winter.  As I'm sure you can tell from my recipes, there is plenty of pumpkin and squash to be eaten here.  the curry and apple flavors are delicious, but it's fun to have some other flavors as well.

I like to roast the squash whole with a few fork pricks in it.  None of this trying to chop it in half for me.  That's just crazy.  I remember my mom hitting the squash with a hatchet in the garage before baking the squash halves.  Yikes.....we need to be done with that method.  I'm not sure what crazy person thought of that idea.  The "baked potato" method is much better, so that's what I did for this recipe.  I did not rub the squash with butter either.  I really did use the cream...it did give it some great flavors.

I haven't been a dedicated blogger this fall.  In part because of my full time job status....in part because of computer availability with two teenagers in the house....and I haven't been too creative lately and have been sticking with some old favorites.

I decreased the butter to about half of what the original recipe said.  And the only garnish we had...pumpkin seeds.

I guess I can't have too many good sqaush soup recipes!

Squash Soup

Squash Soup
OK...maybe everyone has this recipe by now.  If so, that's because it's a good one.

1 T butter
2 large onions, chopped
4-5 t curry powder
2 T brown sugar
3 c chicken stock
2 c apple cider
2 1/2-3 lb squash, peeled and chopped (or poke a few holes in it and bake until soft)
2 apples, peeled and chopped
salt and pepper
optional garnishes:  plain yogurt or sour cream, parsley, bleu cheese, chives

Melt butter in stockpot.  Add onion and curry powder.  Cook until onions are soft.  Stir in brown sugar.  Add stock, cider, squash, and apples.  Simmer until tender.  Process until smooth or simply mash in pan.

This one is a classic around here, and I don't think we have had a fall without it in years and years.  A friend of mine was telling me that she enjoys a similar soup at our local City Market; however, theirs does not have apple.  Lucky for her since she has an apple allergy.  That did get me to thinking that this may be good with pears instead...maybe pear juice substituted for the apple cider.  I'm going to try that next time; however, my plan is to omit the brown sugar since pear juice seems a bit sweeter to me.

If you're not a curry fan, this may be a good way to get a bit of good-for-you tumeric into your body:)

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
The link will take you to the original of this recipe; although my version was pretty close to the original.  This soup was good.  Not great, but perfectly fine for a night that ended up being late due to a swim meet.

Just checking in to see if anyone is missing my more frequent posts.  We still have been eating well...and exercising minus the strength training (plan to remedy that in the next few days though).  It's been a lot to adjust to this new fall schedule this year with an extra person in the house (who is delightful, BTW), and a full time job, and Paul's travel.  All is going well and we are still eating things, but I'm feeling like I have a few other priorities right now.  I'm still cooking, it's just that tried and true recipes are what is needed.
Greek chicken pita
spaghetti carbonara
sandwiches
Keeping it simple works for now.
So, don't mind my sporadic posts while I figure this out.  And check back when you can since I expect my blogging cycle will change again.
See you soon....hoping in the next week or so.

Ingredients:

4 tsp. olive oil
8 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 c.)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 c.)
2 medium carrot, diced (about 1c.)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 c. orzo, preferably whole wheat
2 large eggs
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice


Directions:

1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the pot, and cook. Stir a few times until just cooked through, about five minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

2. Add the remaining two teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook until vegetables are tender, about five minutes.

3. Add five cups of broth and bring to a boil.

4. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about eight minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

5. Warm the remaining one cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling.

6. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice. Temper the egg mixture with warm broth, whisking the whole time.

7. Add egg mixture to the soup pot, stirring well until soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil.

8. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. 

Buffalo Chicken Chowder

Buffalo Chicken Chowder

I lied.  Well, when I typed that I was tired of Buffalo chicken flavors I meant it....just that it has since turned into a lie.  I'm ready after finding this recipe on the prevention rd website.  Hmmm...this should be a good thing to make on a busy Monday that happens to be Paul's birthday. I need something that he will like yet can be made easily for a busy weeknight.

My adaptation was to mix all the liquids together and pour all put approximately 1 c into the crockpot.  I then added the flour to the remaining liquid, stirred, and poured it in the rest of the ingredients.  Seemed like it save a bit of pouring and transferring. I didn't have celery seed but found celery salt in my pantry, so I used that instead and omitted the salt.

Here's my version:
4 1/2 cups (about 2 large) yukon potatoes,cubed
1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
1/2+ onion, roughly chopped
1+ cup (about 4 stalks) celery, chopped
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup wing sauce
---------
Garnish with:
blue cheese crumbles
celery stalks, cut in half
drizzle with wing sauce

I chopped the chicken, celery, and onion the day before and threw it in a ziploc.  Chop potatoes and add to slow cooker.  Add ziploc ingredients, celery salt, pepper, thyme, and red pepper flakes.
In a large measuring cup mix together half and half, broth, and wing sauce.  Pour all but 1 c or so into the crockpot (this does not need to be accurate).  Add flour to remaining liquid and mix well. 

Crockpot (like how that's a verb?) on low for 12 hours or so and serve with crusty bread.

Umm...Paul was a bit disappointed to be having a crockpot meal on his birthday.  But, this was good, so I guess it was alright that it was quick and easy for a birthday dinner. 

After having a bit of time off work and an even longer bit of time off swimming, I knew day one wouldn't leave much time for cooking.  It's tricky after a break since I have to remember all the things I do to get ready in the morning like pack lunches and make a Dutch Baby for breakfast.  Along with showering, getting dressed, and packing for the Y, that was all I could manage even with getting up 15 minutes earlier than I usually do.

It seems like a good dinner on Sunday night and Monday night will set the tone for the week.  I think it's going to be a good one....

Baked Potato Soup

Hide cauliflower in the soup?  Who am I...Jessica Seinfeld?  I have to admit I usually don't take to this idea preferring instead to embrace the vegetables!  Then again, I still have CSA cauliflower in my freezer that needs to be used, so I'll try the covert method this time.  I have about one more recipe's worth of cauliflower left from last summer...not bad.

The cauliflower taste was a bit strong, so this may not suit your palate if you really dislike it.   We don't mind it in small amounts, so this was fine with us.  Hey, put cheese and sour cream and bacon on it, and I think we'll eat almost anything! Eleanor and I really like it...but it didn't make 5 post-workout servings.  We each ate a large bowl of it, and there is enough for her for a lunch meal.

Eleanor said her friends were eyeing this in her lunch and thinking it was a great idea.  That gives me the idea that I should probably just make mashed potatoes for lunch some weeks and put different toppings in her lunch bag in each day...bacon, chicken apple sausage, goat cheese, etc.  Hey, that may be a fun thing to do some week during these long winter months.

I used skim milk and regular sour cream while omitting the chives.  This recipe will be repeated at this house.
Baked Potato Soup
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Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Yum!  For years I have paged through the Moosewood Cookbook. for specific recipes and ideas.  I have three different Moosewood cookbooks but hadn't looked at this one lately. 

My friend, Deb, has been talking about mushroom soup the last couple times I have seen her.  She plays poker with a group of men...and one of them got a mushroom growing kit for Christmas, and he served mushroom soup at a recent poker game.  I knew the recipe was from Moosewood, but I forgot to ask which cookbook and which mushroom soup recipe.  I found this one...and it's good.  I will check with her to see if there is another recipe I should try.  But, I am happy to stay with this one.  Very very happy to stay with this recipe since it was delicious!

I used water instead of stock.  And, I did not have parsley to sprinkle on the top.  

I posted the link to a very similar recipe.  The only difference I could find that my recipe didn't call for soy sauce.  I can't vouch for this recipe with the soy sauce, but I highly recommend it without.  I bought a baguette and Parmesan cheese thinking I would need both to get buy in on this recipe.  Although both these ingredients added to the meal, I think all would have been fine without it as well.

I noticed when I was at Sendiks today that they are selling the mushroom growing kits.  So maybe that's hip and trendy in the food world.  I just used the baby bella mushrooms that were on sale.  I like the idea of growing mushrooms in my basement but think the yield would be too high.  I think I really want a friend to start growing mushrooms and giving me the extras!

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Wonton Soup

 Allrecipe Wonton Soup
I'm just a bit tired of eating....it's been a food fest the past few days for our family with a work party and a New Year's Eve party.  Lots of cheesy dips and appetizers.  They were great, but I'm ready to be done and return to our more usual eating habits.

On the exercise side, it was a week filled with activity centered around Eleanor's crazy swim schedule.  I got to do Hatha yoga and sweaty yoga, Chisel and body pump, along with regular cardio fun...cycling and walking and Body Combat.  But there still was a lot of creamy dips and chips.

I like wonton soup and remember my parents making it when I was growing up, but I don't think I had ever made it...until now.  I found this recipe when I was browsing for recipes (the word "browse" is one of our favorite words at work, so I thought I would use it in the blog) and it fit my light and healthy January recipe requirement.

I accidentally froze the ground pork after coming home from the grocery store, but i had 2 cans of mock duck in the pantry that I substituted.  I really am on a mission to go through the freezer and the pantry, so it worked out well to serve this.



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Creamy Curry Sweet Potato Soup

I found this recipe in the paper and noted that I would like to try it.  The flavors sounded good to me, and we are huge sweet potato fans in this house.  Eleanor's still recovering from her "Oklahoma diet" which included a bit fewer fruits and vegetables that she is used to having in her diet.  Not that I have anything against Oklahoma, it's just that the strange times the swimmers needed to eat didn't usually involve restaurants with fresh produce.  That's part of why this was a good experience for her....she now knows that she'll have to figure out a way to stockpile a few more nutrients in her room. And that's how you learn that sometimes you just have to eat what's there, even if it isn't what you would normally choose. 

Creamy Curry Sweet Potato Soup was one more recipe for her vegetable recovery week.  I had a huge bunch of cilantro left from something else (more on that another time), so it was the perfect time to make this. 

This recipe is from Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, a place I have never been not being a casino fan.  I have never been to Oklahoma either, so I'm posting about a lot of things I don't know!  If you don't live here, you'll probably really enjoy saying "Pot-o-watt-o-me".  I know how to say that and I know how to make soup, so I have part of this going on!

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Slow Cooker Chicken and Pasta Soup

 Slow Cooker Chicken (Turkey) and Pasta Soup

I came across this recipe while looking for fun new recipes to try.  I'm usually up for making something in the crockpot, and a bowl full of broth and vegetables seemed to be in order after Eleanor had been travelling for a swim meet.  All those days of food on the road had her craving fruits and vegetables.

I used the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving that I had in the freezer to make this.   I'm anxious to make it again using "regular" chicken since it was a bit too smoky tasting this round.  The flavors were good though, so this one will be a keeper.

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Corn and Sausage Chowder

Blackwolf Run Corn Sausage Chowder
Our mutual friend Amy had a facebook post that she had made this soup.  Elizabeth and I both wanted the recipe.  In fact, I was so anxious to make it that I did an online search for it and found this.

As Eleanor said, it has all good flavors mixed into one bowl of soup.  The sausage was a tiny bit spicy, the potatoes and evaporated milk a bit creamy, and the corn a bit sweet.

I will make this again, for sure!


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Winter Minestrone

 Winter Minestrone with Swiss Chard and Sausage

 I made a huge pot of this the day after I received both Swiss Chard and Kale in my Fall CSA box.  I altered the recipe a bit, adding summer squash and beans from the freezer, also from my CSA earlier in the year. This is a great, hearty winter soup. My daughter was a bit upset at the inclusion of squash and the inadvertent omission of pasta(when I made this, I omitted the pasta because it was going straight into the freezer), but the rest of us thought it was quite tasty! When I serve it next, I will cook some pasta so everyone can add as much as they would like.  A salad and some fresh bread rounded out a great meal.
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Italian Garden Soup

For those of you watching your waistline, this isn't exactly a low calorie meal, but it is definitely worth the splurge. This recipe has been part of my collection for at least 15 years, but I honestly lost it for a while since my recipes weren't very organized. During my recent reorganization I found it and wanted to make it immediately.

Full of sausage and laced with pesto, this soup is a hearty meal full of flavor. A simple salad and a bit of bread is all you will need and I recommend you double the recipe and freeze the leftovers. Don't add the pasta to the part you freeze, add it when you pull it out later, otherwise the pasta falls apart.


For those of you who shop at Costco, they sell Italian sausage in six pound packages. The day I made this soup I also made a double batch of Italian Gravy(see 9/21/2010 post). These two recipes took 4 of the six pounds...a great way to meal plan and stock the freezer!


Italian Garden Soup


Ingredients:
1/2 lb salt pork, diced, rind removed (can use bacon)
3 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 c chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans, drained
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1 t dried rosemary
2 T olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausages
1 cup small pasta
2 c shredded spinach leaves
1/4 c prepared pesto
Fresh Parmesan

Directions:
   Saute salt pork in heavy large pot or dutch oven. Add onions and garlic and saute until vegetables are soft. Add chicken broth, beans, carrots, celery, green pepper, parsley, rosemary and bay leaf. Slice Italian sausages into chunks and saute. Add sausages, pasta, and spinach to soup and cook until pasta is tender. Add pesto and season with salt and pepper.
   Serve with parmesan
_____



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Potato Corn and Leek Chowder

 Potato Corn and Leek Chowder

I have an abundance of potatoes from the CSA, red, white, russet and sweet! I also received leeks this past week, so chowder it is!

This recipe is easy to throw together...I made it on Sunday for a Monday night meal and I doubled the batch. I used red potatoes, added a small jalapeno for flavor and used red/green peppers which is what I had. Being November, I also used frozen corn.

The family was once again split on this recipe.  Meghan and I thought it was good, Jack and Brian thought it was bland...in the future I will use a second jalapeno and perhaps handle the thickening of the recipe differently. This recipe called for adding the flour to the milk and then adding this to the vegetable mixture, I think I would handle this more like a traditional rue by adding the flour to the vegetable mixture and then add the milk.

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Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Garam Masala

 I made this last year and I am surprised I didn't blog about it...this is one of my favorite soups on the planet! In an effort to decrease my squash supply,  I used the two butternut squash I had on hand and set to work.  This is another easy soup recipe. The time to prepare and roast the squash is the only time consuming part of the recipe.  I also use less apple than the recipe calls for, we find it is too apple flavored otherwise. Once again, I made this soup on the weekend and froze it for a future monday night meal.  I didn't have shallots on hand so I used leeks and I never strain this soup, just puree it well. I didn't add the half and half since the soup was going in the freezer. I will add that when we have it for a Monday meal.

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Puree of Vegetable Soup

After the success I had with the homemade tomato soup, I decided to try again. This time I took what I had and made it up as I went along. The picture looks great! It is missing the potatoes I decided to add, but the best part is that everything that went into this soup except the chicken broth came from my CSA box! Yup, tomatoes, carrots, jalepeno, leeks, celery root, russet potatoes, sage and summer savory, all from boxes from the last few weeks!

Here is what I had and what I did...

5-7 Tomatoes, variety of kinds
1 Jalepeno

I cleaned and cut the tomatoes and Jalepeno in half and broiled them for about 10 minutes. I then peeled the tomatoes and threw everything in a soup pot.

2 peeled and chunked russet potatos(small)
2 leeks, well cleaned and sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 carrots(I had one yellow carrot, but could use regular carrots) cleaned and chunked
1 celery root peeled and chunked

I drizzled olive oil over these vegetables, then added salt, pepper, savory and sage. These I roasted until al dente and then added everything to the soup pot.

I cooked this mixture with 4 cups chicken broth for about an hour and then pureed in batches.

The finished product...lots of tomato and celery root flavor! Delicious!


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Homemade Tomato Soup

I have never attempted homemade tomato soup, but recently I had lots of tomatoes from my CSA box that needed to be used.  My son loves tomato basil soup, so I set out to find a recipe and came across Tomato Soup with Parmesan Toast.  While it only has a 3 star rating, we loved it. The addition of the fennel is lovely and this is a creamy soup with a lot of body, without any cream. I used an entire fennel bulb, tops and all and I didn't peel the tomatoes, I just through everything together.  I used about 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes in place of the canned tomatoes, omitted the thyme and added 1/2 can of tomato paste that was leftover from another recipe. All of the vegetables came from my CSA box except the fennel!

Dinner that night was tomato soup with grilled cheese and a green salad...a big hit!



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Italian Chicken Soup

I love to share recipes with my friends who love cooking.  In addition to Karen my blogging partner, I have another friend named Karen who loves to cook.  Karen2 and I work together and this past week we exchanged recipes.  She gave me the recipe for Italian Chicken Soup and I shared the secret of THE BREAD.  I had this soup and THE BREAD for dinner last week and she had the same thing for dinner over the weekend. We both agree that an entire package of pasta is probably too much for the soup, I would cut it in half next time. As a family we all agreed that the addition of cream (I used half and half) made this soup velvety, somewhere between a broth soup and a cream soup.

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Split Pea Soup

Sometimes I like to see if I can go just another day without going to the grocery store. Usually I can wait and cook something from items I have on hand. This is one of those things and it did delay the Sendik's run by a day.

In the slowcooker:

1 pkg rinsed yellow split peas

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 bay leaves

carton of chicken broth

Turned it on low and let it cook all day. Before serving I sauteed some Trader Joe's chicken apple sausage and topped it with that. It was hearty and warm!

The picture is the soup in a lunch container for a subsequent day. It worked well for quite a few lunches as well as a dinner.

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